
City Cast Salt Lake
City Cast Salt Lake is Salt Lake City’s daily news podcast. Host Ali Vallarta and a bevy of smart and entertaining locals will bring you conversations about the issues that matter most to SLC. Some days City Cast will make you proud; other days it’ll make you angry. It will celebrate Salt Lake’s triumphs, (try to) solve its mysteries, and explore its history. City Cast will help you feel more connected to the Wasatch Front – whether you’ve lived here for 6 months or 6 generations.
Latest episodes

Nov 29, 2023 • 20min
Fake Islands and Real Revenge on Utah Lake
Just south of Salt Lake County lies Utah Lake, a freshwater body connected to Great Salt Lake via the Jordan River that you might know for its summer algal blooms. But beneath the pond scum lies a tale of back-room scheming and vengeance. Salt Lake Tribune reporter Leia Larsen has been digging into the muck around Lake Restoration Solutions’ islands project and shares her findings with host Ali Vallarta.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:Tecovas at City Creek Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 28, 2023 • 24min
How to Localize Your Giving Tuesday
The end of the year provides a huge fundraising push for Utah nonprofits, and Giving Tuesday — today! — kickstarts the giving season. In a past life, City Cast Salt Lake host Ali Vallarta was a nonprofit development director. She joins executive producer Emily Means to share the do’s and don’ts for charitable giving this season and maximizing your local impact with even just $5.Sign up for the 2024 Point-In-Time Count.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
Tecovas at City Creek
Mattress Warehouse
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 27, 2023 • 25min
Can Salt Lake Dream Up a Lesbian Bar?
Salt Lake has been named one of the queerest cities in America, and yet, we have not one single lesbian bar! So how did we get here? Host Ali Vallarta asks born-and-bred Salt Laker Sarah Reale about the days of yore and — most importantly — the future we need to invest in.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.This episode features a sponsored interview with Anne Olsen, community manager of The Shop Workspace, about how The Shop offers Salt Lake professionals more than just office space.Learn more about our other sponsors:
Tecovas at City Creek
Mattress Warehouse
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 22, 2023 • 28min
Election Results, Proposed School Closures, and Local Nog
It’s the morning after Election Day following an extra long election cycle, and the results are in — some of them, anyway. Salt Lake Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke joins host Ali Vallarta to break down what we know so far about the outcomes for Utah’s second congressional district and Salt Lake City municipal races. Plus, the Salt Lake City School District is recommending four elementary schools for closure. What do the outcomes tell us?Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
Tecovas at City Creek Mall
Mattress Warehouse
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 21, 2023 • 30min
Salt Lake Political Nepo Babies You Should Know
The term “nepo baby” — shorthand for the children of famous or well-connected people who have benefited from nepotism — has become a cultural buzzword. You surely could name some celebrity nepo babies, like Zoë Kravitz and Sofia Coppola. But for some families, politics is the family business. Host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means explore the family trees of four Salt Lake-area political leaders and the parents or spouses who helped pave their way.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
Tecovas at City Creek Mall
Mattress Warehouse
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 20, 2023 • 27min
Should Salt Lakers Be Pursuing Tech Jobs?
One year after the Christmas tech layoffs of 2022, we hoped things would be better. But Utah-based real estate business Homie and survey company Qualtrics recently made big staffing cuts, so how healthy is our tech industry? Host Ali Vallarta asks Sunny Washington, co-founder of Utah Tech Leads and CEO of Seer, if Utahns should be wary of this sector. Plus, she explains why a slump may actually be the best time to raise capital. Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.This episode features a sponsored interview with Anne Olsen, community manager of The Shop Workspace, about how The Shop offers Salt Lake professionals more than just office space.Learn more about our other sponsors:
Tecovas at City Creek
Mattress Warehouse
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 17, 2023 • 32min
New Speaker, New Union, and Doing Right by Joe Hill
Utah House Republicans elected new leadership this week, and host Ali Vallarta thinks you should put Speaker Mike Schultz’s number in your phone right now. Ali and executive producer Emily Means discuss expectations for Schultz heading into the next legislative session. Plus, unionizing is afoot among University of Utah Health workers, which is perfect timing as a memorial for labor activist Joe Hill is about to be unveiled in Sugar House Park.Learn more about labor activist and songwriter Joe Hill ahead of the monument unveiling in Sugar House Park. Laura Tohe, author of No Parole Today, gives a free virtual lecture on Navajo Code Talkers at Arizona State University.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
The Shop Workspace
Tecovas at City Creek Mall
State of Utah
Mattress Warehouse
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 16, 2023 • 24min
Wait, Is Daybreak Cool?
The Salt Lake Bees are moving to Daybreak, a master-planned community in South Jordan. And while a lot of Salt Lakers scoffed at this decision, recent data shows that 56% of urban Utahns desire more planned living. Daybreak resident Samora Magadla recently won the lottery and decided it was the place to put down roots, which has host Ali Vallarta asking: Is Daybreak cool?Become a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
The Shop Workspace
Tecovas at City Creek Mall
State of Utah
Mattress Warehouse
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 15, 2023 • 25min
Tale of Two Mayors: a Contentious Race Wraps Up
The campaign season for Salt Lake City mayor has felt longer than it had any right to be, including about a dozen debates with the candidates. As we inch closer and closer to Election Day, executive producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta to discuss takeaways from the debates and some final musings before voters decide who will lead our city. Why would the Utah Jazz leave Salt Lake City?KUER’s guide to the Ogden mayoral candidates.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
The Shop Workspace
Tecovas at City Creek Mall
State of Utah
Mattress Warehouse
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 14, 2023 • 23min
Should Salt Lake Be Hosting the 2034 Olympics?
Utah is now the only bidder for the 2034 Winter Olympics, which has some outlets reporting that it’s almost certain Salt Lake City will be awarded the games (again). But not all SLC residents are convinced we need a do-over — including host Ali Vallarta. Catherine Raney-Norman, a four-time Olympian and chair of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, makes her case for bringing the Olympic dream back to our city.Sign up for our Green Loop Walking Tour on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 11 a.m.This episode originally aired on April 25, 2023.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
The Shop Workspace
Tecovas at City Creek Mall
State of Utah
Mattress Warehouse
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices